PADDLER 23
ZANSKAR
Forty years on
I trained the kayakers for a year to be ready to face an unknown river in the Himalayas . I secured the Mike Jones Award by presenting the concept to the Royal Geographic Society in London . This was an annual grant in honour of Mike Jones , who had led the first descent of The Dudh Kosi – the mighty Everest river . Mike , unfortunately , died a few years later while attempting to rescue a fellow kayaker on the Braldu River in Pakistan . His death opened the way for this group from inner London to be part of the London Youth Himalayan Kayak expedition .
The first major problem for the team 40 years ago was the altitude of the pass . Young people are believed to be more susceptible to altitude or acute mountain sickness , a milder form of altitude sickness that can lead to a high altitude Pulmonary or Cerebral oedema .
One of the most memorable moments of the expedition involved the last resort of tying the hands and feet of an unconscious youth ( Andy ) and jabbing him with a cortisone injection as his body was prone over a donkey . Knowing that altitude can strike someone fast as they go into a coma , I was confident that going up and onwards would get Andy lower by the end of the day and potentially stand a better chance of saving his life . Andy was eating eggs and chips that evening , but I still look back , knowing this was one of his toughest decisions ever . This decision was a benchmark upon which I made many life and business decisions .
As they neared the end of their journey , the team reflected on the lessons they had learned and the memories they had made . They had pushed themselves to their limits and accomplished what many thought may be impossible to achieve by such a young , untested group . They had experienced the beauty and majesty of the Himalayas in all its glory and did it together as a team . True to its power , the river flipped the support raft , and the cameraman swimming for his life lost his camera and much of the excellent gorge footage .
I did not know then , but my observations of a team working together would stand me in good stead to go on and create the world ’ s largest team-building company , Catalyst Global . As we say , “ Mighty oaks from little acorns grow .”
PADDLER 23